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Posted By Aaron Marcelli on February 28, 2010

The Atlanta Hawks are the closest professional basketball team to where I live.  I love the NBA!  I would go to as many games as I could for any team.  I went to a lot of hawks games even when they were bad and though they are not my favorite basketball club, I have grown to cheer for them.

Knowing how much joy basketball gives me and that going to games is a great way to unwind, I bought a mini game plan at the beginning of the season.  I have tickets to fourteen of the biggest games of the hawks season.  One of those games was last Friday.  The Hawks were playing the Dallas Mavericks at 8pm (according to my tickets).  On Friday I got off work, picked up some dinner, met Katy, and we made the hundred mile drive to the ATL.  As we approached downtown I mentioned the noticeably low traffic for a Friday night.  We were able to park without any delay.  Even more skeptical was the lack of ticket scalpers we passed on our way to the arena.  I pulled out the tickets to recheck tip off time.  We walked into Philips Arena at 7:55pm to an unusual amount of noise and an equally unusual amount of traffic.  As we rode up the escalator I caught a glimpse of a jumbo-tron only to realize the buzzer had just sounded for halftime.  The game had been moved up to 7:00pm and nobody told me!

After finding a team attendant to file my complaint to, I huffed off to find my seat and plop down in disgust.    I felt cheated.  I felt robbed.  Everyone else around me was getting the full game experience and I was getting half a show.  I found it hard to get into things or fake excitement even when the second half started.  It was only when the game ended up going into overtime that I somehow felt better about driving all that way and missing the first 24 minutes of play.

As I sat, watching the game with little emotion, my mind drifted to all the times I have sat in church, checking my watch, feeling the service had gone too long.  Every week I see people stumble into church late, showing up as though it’s more of a good deed than an act of worship.  So many times even I have publicly noted that preachers should have more respect for other’s time and make sure that the service ends promptly one hour after it begins.  At the basketball game I felt cheated when I missed out yet sometimes in church I felt confined for having to stay till the end.

Realizing this showed me some things – that I’m glad I no longer go to boring churches.  If you are one who have said such things about church or have the attitude of duty when attending, perhaps you should find a place of worship you can get excited about.  You go to church because you want to.  Because you realize it is a great place to worship, serve, or build community.  No one moaned when the basketball game went into overtime because such was going to ruin their lunch plans.  Yet that is the attitude when church runs five minutes over at many places of worship on Sunday mornings.

I have actually told others lately that when something comes up and I have to miss a week of church, I feel as though I have really missed out.  I’m disappointed.  I get the pod cast so I’m not left out.  How do you view going to church?  What would your reaction be if next Sunday you showed up and realized they were already taking up the offering (which I think is the church equivalent to an NBA halftime).

Category: Church Life / Denominations, Entertainment, My Life / Personal, Sports
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